A Design Thinking Approach to Teaching Sustainability

Understanding sustainability requires a system-wide perspective to guide the interpretation of problems and conceptualization of solutions. A lake sustainability Trust provided an opportunity for students to gain this perspective by examining societal, commercial, and environmental policy perspectives associated with a local endangered lake and surrounding wetlands. This was an ideal project to bring sustainability issues to life for students but was too complex for a single class to attack. This article describes a multicourse initiative that sought to heighten students’ awareness of sustainability issues using a design thinking problem-solving approach. Interviews conducted revealed concerns that educators may have in considering similar projects. The authors respond to these perceived obstacles with recommendations and a discussion of mitigation strategies. In addition to the Trust gaining direction, the design and implementation of this cross-course experiential learning initiative allowed Marketing Research and Product Design students to develop an appreciation for macrolevel sustainability issues, and environmental policy students to appreciate the value of marketing research in the development of land use plans.

Navigating the New Normal: An S-O-R Perspective on Student Experiences of Environmental, Psychological, and Behavioral Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Although higher education has weathered many past challenges, none can compare with the magnitude and velocity of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although students continued their academic careers despite hardships, as yet little is known about how they experienced and adapted to various pandemic-induced changes to their academic and personal lives. We address this gap through a qualitative exploration of student experiences of navigating the new normal which they were abruptly thrust into near the end of the Spring 2020 semester. Using a guided introspection methodology and a Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, we unearth a dynamic process of psychological and behavioral changes that students experienced in response to the environmental changes brought about by the pandemic. We theorize that environmental dissolution and displacement trigger psychological reorientation, causing students to undertake behavioral practices of restructuration and reconfiguration that, over time, result in a degree of psychological revaluation. Our overall framework represents a fluid conceptualization that is not only more descriptive of real-world student progress but also more parsimonious in its account of key dimensions of student experience during the pandemic. We conclude by noting the implications of our framework for marketing educators and administrators, especially given the growing popularity of remote working.

Teaching What Society Needs: “Hacking” an Introductory Marketing Course With Sustainability and Macromarketing

Marketing classes are often focused on the micro level, failing to account for wider societal issues. In this article, we argue for the inclusion of a wider macro-sustainability focus, one that “hacks” marketing education. With that objective in mind, we developed and delivered an introductory marketing course that integrated both the micro and the macro, thus infusing the course with macro-sustainability. This was done through an “expanded voice” perspective that included alternate complementary micro and macro class sessions while using a traditional managerial marketing textbook supplemented by macro-sustainability materials. We also integrated a controversies approach to support discussion and learning. We taught this course to 150 undergraduate students and conducted both quantitative and qualitative assessments of the course, including comparing results with an “unhacked” marketing course. Findings indicated increased awareness of macro-sustainability topics and movement on appreciation of sustainability and the role marketing can have in achieving this awareness. Finally, we offer a model of how marketing classes at all levels can be “hacked” with a macro-sustainability approach.

Blended Learning in Principles of Marketing: The Effects of Student Differences on Student Performance

Blended learning, which combines the benefits of both online learning and face-to-face instruction, is becoming popular in higher education. Despite its increase in application, there is limited research on the mechanisms to improve student performance in blended learning courses. This article aims to identify and empirically test individual factors influencing student performance in an introductory marketing course offered in a blended learning format. Through two surveys conducted during the semester at two large, public business schools, we find that metacognitive regulation, metacognitive knowledge, and student effort enhance student performance in blended learning courses. We also find that self-efficacy and course-specific attitudes affect metacognition and student effort. Based on the results, we provide practical strategies to design blended learning courses that improve student performance.

Experiencing the Macromarketing Dimensions of Sustainability: Lessons Learned From Field Trips to the Ultra Novel

This paper seeks to determine the value of field trips that help establish macromarketing and sustainability scholarship in mainstream business/marketing education. It explores the experiences of postgraduate marketing and business strategy students undertaking a field trip to the “World’s Greenest Football Club,” Forest Green Rovers. It responds to the call to establish the macromarketing viewpoint within business and management education and provides contemporary insight into the hitherto unexplored use of field trips for postgraduate students. Through student focus groups, the study identifies the importance of selecting field trip locations where the complex and interwoven interplay of meso, micro, and macro activities can be critically evaluated through multiple stakeholder interactions. In addition, it points to the value of students experiencing “ultra-novel” organizations and situations to motivate learning, stimulate critical debate, and thereby facilitate cognition of macromarketing systems and sustainability.

Using Macromarketing to Teach Business Sustainability

The first macromarketing seminar held in 1976 represented a first attempt to “hack the system” of business schools to bring a societal focus to the teaching of marketing. This effort resulted eventually in macromarketing becoming a major field of the marketing discipline. Today, forces outside the business school are pointing business schools to broaden their curricula to include social responsibility in the form of macromarketing, sustainability, and marketing for a better world. The purpose of this article is to discuss the challenges and opportunities of teaching macromarketing and sustainability concepts to business students so that more macromarketing managers would develop and exert their influence in marketplaces around the world. Important points include (a) the imperative for macromarketing-minded educators to advocate for curriculum changes in their own business schools, and (b) the need for macromarketing-minded educators to become more capable teachers of macromarketing and sustainability content with students more skeptical about such content. This article offers a constructivist approach to setting the stage for students engaging macromarketing and sustainability content for the first time. Embracing the paradox of managerial macromarketing and integrating experiential learning highlight this approach.

Rapid Transitioning to Remote Learning: Shared Responsibility and Coping Strategies

This study examined the impact of shared responsibility on the relationship between marketing and other business students’ coping strategies and their satisfaction with the rapid transitioning to remote learning and academic performance expectations. COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) rapidly altered and challenged higher education to maintain pedagogical services provided to students, regardless of faculty or student readiness or experience. As such, shared responsibility can be critical in times of crisis when the university community must pull together for mutual success. Findings indicate that students’ sense of shared responsibility and healthy coping mechanisms lead to student satisfaction with the transition process and more positive academic outcomes. This study is the first to empirically examine shared responsibility in higher education during a crucial period to the authors’ knowledge. By promoting shared responsibility, marketing educators can improve student outcomes and identify those who may need additional support resources.

Analytics Capability in Marketing Education: A Practice-Informed Model

As marketing continues to be transformed by technology and the explosion of big data, academic research has identified a significant need for analytics skills in marketing education. However, it is unclear whether current curriculum approaches to marketing analytics equip students with the skills employers need and prepare them effectively for data-driven marketing roles. This study identifies the knowledge and skills marketing graduates require for analytics practice to bridge the theory-practice gap and increase students’ employability. Our research reveals that a blend of knowledge, soft and technical skills is needed, and that the ability to communicate insights from data to stakeholders is critical. We offer a practice-informed model which demonstrates that conceptual knowledge, technical skills, tools skills and soft skills are required to develop holistic analytics capability for marketing practice. Actionable takeaways for how educators can embed holistic analytics teaching in marketing education are also provided.

Updating the Marketing Research Course to Prepare the Marketing Generalist

This exploratory research suggests that undergraduate marketing research textbooks and courses have not kept pace with the changes in the marketing research world over the past two decades. Two studies, one a review of marketing research syllabi and another a content analysis of online job postings, explore this phenomenon. The results imply that, in contrast to the historical context of marketing research course, most advertised entry-level marketing jobs requiring marketing research skills are not in marketing research firms. Indeed, contemporary marketing research is more likely a function embedded within an array of generalist job duties that also require soft skills and the ability to analyze and present data to upper management. As a result of this research, educators should have a heightened awareness of the following: (a) the disconnect between the marketing research curriculum and current industry needs, (b) the changing role of marketing research as diffused throughout the organization, and (c) the broader set of skills and techniques required of entry-level marketing graduates. As a possible solution to these issues, this research proposes an integrated model whereby instructors can help their students navigate the current landscape by choosing an appropriate pedagogical path to assist students in their career goals.